I'm leaving in a few weeks to go to school in Upstate New York (North Country, I guess). I'm pretty much a SoCal kid and love the Sierra. Is there any alpine climbing to look forward to up there? I'll be above the Adirondacks so I would guess that will be my fix.

I'm pretty much just asking what I can look forward to up there or if the situation for alpine rock/ice is bleak.

not much in terms of 'alpine' rock like you have out there, but plenty, plenty of ice to climb. roadside crags to backcountry climbs. and not too far from vermont (smuggler's notch, lake willoughby) and new hampshire (where do I start?).

I guess for more alpine-y stuff, there's backcountry climbs like wallface and the stuff at avalanche pass and the slides which are usually low 5th, some harder.new hampshire will have more alpine type rock routes, like cannon cliff and the routes in huntington ravine on mt washington.

pick up Adirondack Rock and start there. check out NEIce.com, NEClimbs.com. people are already itching for cold temps.

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhbugs.don't I know it.it's been AWFUL. I guess they just like my taste but the bugs, and lately deer flies, have been unrelenting. and gnats - wtf?!

Have fun at Clarkson, you geeky engineer, and don't be sad when Cornell destroys you in hockey.

St. lawrence!

Not the Himalayas for sure but when you combine the alpine experience you will gain in the North Country with the technical abilities you have acquired in California, you will be equipped to be a serious mountaineer if that's what you want.

That's the plan! I'm stoked to get on some ice, get used to some cold, and get ready for some big ranges!

hey .. there are some sweet Alpine climbs .. Gothics North Face is a nice 8 or so pitch climb. Wallface has about 8 pitches as well and there are scores of others. Check out "Adirondack Rock" - it's a really good guidebook to climbs up there. I tell you, it ain't CA for sure, but the hiking is pretty intense nevertheless!

The adirondacks are great! Basically my playground as far as mountains are concerned (I live about 3 and a half hours away in Ottawa). I've been doing lots of backpacking during the summer and winter, and lots of cragging but the next step for me is alpine routes during the winter. Gothics North Face, Basin East Face and Mt. Colden Trap Dike come to mind. There are also a huge amount of slide climbing (go look at MudRat's trip reports!), so the posibilities are definitely there. As others have said, don't write off the dacks because of their elevation : they are rugged and approches are usually long. There is also a lot of good ice to climb. If you ever need a climbing partner, shoot me a pm, i'm down there quite often.

So as far as gear decisions go: should I be looking into buying a hardshell for winter conditions up there? I've been using my Patagonia Ascentionist for the last few years and it's kicked ass in the mild weather I have here.

Any other major gear differences between the Sierra and the North East I should be thinking about?

I'm super stoked to get up there and start checking out the scene (and figuring out the whole ice climbing thing!)